HIV

HIV: Is a cure in the air?

I know I shouldn’t have dragged my feet on writing this up, but I was so worried that we’d get a report that the recent cure wasn’t going to be as spectacular as the initial reports indicated. Since nothing’s come out immediately disproving the debunking, it indicates it’s safe to start talking about it.

It’s spectacular! We now have a case in addition to the Berlin Patient.

To me, the biggest application of this would be in 3rd world countries where health care overlooks so many patients. Yes, it’s only an indication and without further studies we can’t be sure… But I hope that it means we can at least protect infants from acquiring HIV from the mother. I really can’t wait to see if these first hours treatments can really aid people.

The only truly sad part of this is that doctors are fairly sure this isn’t an approach that will help adults. Though other research is shedding light on immune responses, and maybe that will lead to a new approach to HIV that might start helping people older at the time of infection.

Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: HIV sides with people against Cancer (+ Bonus Stories)

Originally reported by Discovery News in their blog on 14 September 2011.

The normally life threatening Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been genetically engineered by scientists to reprogram cancer patients own immune systems to attack cancer cells. This process involves removing t-cells and infecting them intuitionally with modified HIV. The T-cells then attack the cancer. Finally, chemotherapy is used to kill off the infected t-cells and prevent the modified ones from interfering with the production of normal ones. The patient then suffers what appears to be the flu as the cancer dies.

The University of Pennsylvania group who created this process plan to continue testing it, and have already had excellent results in the 3 human tests preformed (2 cases in full remission and another in partial, all lymphocytic leukemia sufferers). Future tests are planned to include research with other forms of cancer.

 

BONUS STORIES

  • SPIKY NEWBORN DINOSAUR FOUND IN D.C. BELTWAY 19 September 2011: The first dinosaur hatchling ever discovered in the Eastern USA is not only the youngest dinosaur ever found, but represents a new species of armored dinosaur!
  • ASTEROID FAMILY NOT GUILTY OF DINOSAUR KILLING 19 September 2011: The Daptistina asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that has long been considered the source of the dinosaur slaying asteroid has been cleared for xenocide against dinosaur kind after providing an alibi: the asteroid belt didn’t exist at the time for dinosaur extinction!